Chapter 3 #2
Once we were settled in the car, we chatted a bit about recipes.
Anytime I’d returned home from Paris over the last three years, I’d shown Mum the things I’d learned, and she soaked it all up like a sponge.
She wanted more lessons, and I was more than happy to oblige.
We never had so much fun than when we were baking together.
As we drove down Castle Street, the village’s main thoroughfare, my chest filled with a happy ache.
It was almost summer, so the days were longer this far north.
The Victorian streetlamps that lined the village were only beginning to glow, and the car park out front of the Gloaming was filled.
The historical architecture and design of the village appealed to tourists as much as the celebrities staying on the village outskirts.
Everything predated the mid-twentieth century, and dominating it all, near to the Gloaming, sat a medieval cathedral.
Shops, restaurants, and bed-and-breakfasts were scattered throughout the village on quaint row streets.
Castle Street was the main road off the square that led out of Ardnoch toward Ardnoch Castle and Estate.
It was an avenue of identical nineteenth-century terraced houses with dormer windows.
Many of the homes had been converted into boutiques, cafés, and inns.
There was Morag’s, a small grocery store and deli that did great sandwiches, and Flora’s, the most popular café in Ardnoch, and, of course, Callie’s Wee Cakery.
Some of the row cottages, however, remained residential.
“Oh, there’s Ery and the twins.” Mum slowed to a stop, and I gaped at the sight of the two tall beings at Ery’s side as they strolled from the Gloaming to an SUV. “Ery!”
Eredine Adair was the willowy, elegant wife of Arran Adair.
One of Lewis’s uncles.
I wanted to sink a little deeper into the passenger side as Lewis’s Aunt Ery and cousins looked our way.
The twins were Kia and Keely. The girls were the spitting image of their mother.
And tall. They had to be teenagers now. How had that happened?
It didn’t seem that long ago when I’d been allowed to hold them in my arms as babies.
Back when … well, when I’d been as much a part of the Adair family as I was of my own.
A different kind of ache spread across my chest. A less than pleasant one.
“Is that Callie?” Keely, the more outgoing of the twins, yelled before loping toward the car.
She was all long limbs and awkwardness, in that in-between stage where you haven’t quite grown into your body.
Her pretty, light hazel eyes lit up as she stopped by the driver’s window, grinned at Mum, and then ducked her head to greet me. “You’re back!”
Mum flinched slightly at the loud yell by her ear but shot me a grin.
“Look at the size of you two,” I huffed, forgetting my awkwardness in Keely’s bubbly presence. “How many inches have you grown since I was last here?”
“Three!” Keely hopped onto the balls of her feet. The twins had taken up dance at a young age and did ballet, tap, and all the things. They’d constantly been on the move as kids, and it didn’t look like much had changed. “Are you really back, then?”
Before I could answer, Ery and Kia approached. “I am,” I said to them all.
Ery gave me a soft smile. “It’s good to have you home.” Her gaze turned to Mum. “You must be so happy.”
“Unbelievably.”
“Hi, Kia.” I waved at Keely’s twin sister. The girls were identical, but Kia had her father’s blue eyes instead of her mother’s hazel. It was the one thing that made it easy to identify each girl.
She gave me a soft smile much like her mum’s. “Hi, Callie.”
“We were just grabbing dinner with Arran.” Ery, like me and Mum, was originally from the US.
Unlike me, but much like Mum, she’d hung onto her accent.
“He’s working the late shift because a bartender quit suddenly.
He’s there all week, so we’re taking the chance to spend time with him when we can. Aren’t we, girls?”
Arran Adair owned and ran the Gloaming, the local pub and hotel that had been a vital part of Ardnoch for centuries.
“We’re heading home from the bakery. You guys need to stop by soon. Callie is introducing the most delicious pastries known to man,” Mum said proudly.
“All that hard work in Paris has paid off?” Ery asked.
I nodded. “Definitely. I’m excited to share what I’ve learned.”
“Well, we’re all very proud of you, Callie.”
My cheeks flushed at her kindness. No matter what had transpired between me and Lewis, I was grateful that his family hadn’t allowed it to affect our interactions. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
“We better get going. See you soon.” Ery stepped back from the car.
“Callie, do you want to go hiking sometime soon?” Keely asked as her mum led her away.
“I’d love that.”
“I’ll call you!”
I grinned as we waved and drove off.
“She’s desperate to be older,” Mum explained. “Keely. She’ll latch on to you like you’re her new best friend.”
“I’ll take all the friends I can get,” I joked. Even though it wasn’t really a joke.
All my friends from school had left Ardnoch, scattered across the country and parts of the world.
We commented on one another’s posts on social media, but that was the extent of the friendship.
My best friend here had always been Lewis, and his sister Eilidh was also one of my closest friends.
Eils and I still talked, but she was living her life in London.
And so was Lewis.
He didn’t have social media, so I couldn’t check in with him. But sometimes Eils would post a photo of Lewis. And I’d find myself staring at it for hours.
He’d only gotten more handsome, and his hair was even longer now. At least it was when she’d posted a photo of him last week. He’d worn it in a man bun, and he had enough scruff on his face for it to qualify as a short beard.
My heart physically hurt as I took in the streets of Ardnoch.
On every single one, I saw the ghosts of me and Lewis.
As kids riding our bikes through the streets.
Then as teens, ducking down quiet lanes to make out beyond the eyes of the local gossips.
His arms around me, his hand in mine, our laughter ringing in the air.
I didn’t believe happiness was a constant. I believed we had moments of happiness that made life worthwhile.
But I didn’t use to think that. Back then, with him, I was happy almost all the time.
Pain long buried thickened my throat as those memories hit me in wave after wave.
This was the drawback to coming home.
Lewis was everywhere.
And nowhere.
Because he was gone.
And I hated him for it.
I wished, after all these years, I could be over it.
But I despised Lewis Adair for not loving me enough.
For tainting my home with memories so sweet, they stung like razor cuts.
“You okay over there?” Mum asked as we pulled into our cul-de-sac.
“I’m fine,” I lied. But it wouldn’t be a lie forever. Just because Lewis Adair had shattered my heart seven years ago didn’t mean I was ready to give up on love.
In fact, now that I was home, I was determined to be open to a deep, meaningful relationship. I’d plant new memories with a new guy here, and I’d erase every single ghost of Lewis from the streets of Ardnoch.
As if I’d conjured thoughts of them, my phone buzzed in my purse, and when I pulled it out, I tensed at the name on the screen. Eilidh.
Come to my wrap party next weekend. Not an invite, but a command. You haven’t been to any of my TV stuff, and I’m prepared to guilt you into it.
“Who is it?” Mum asked as she parked on our drive behind Dad’s Volvo.
“Eilidh. She wants me to go to her wrap party next weekend. She’s practically demanding I go.”
“Then you should go.”
“It’s in London.”
“It’s a quick flight.”
I nodded, my thumbs poised over the screen. Then, “Do you think he’ll be there?”
Mum hesitated a second. “I don’t know. I do know he graduated last week and has a permanent position at a firm in London—”
“How do you know that?”
She gave me a strained smile. “You know Regan and I are friends, and we made a pact not to let what happened between you and Lewis come between us. She was excited and proud and wanted to share her news about her son.”
That was fair. Even if it was the one part of small-town life that had proven to be a pain in the arse. “So, he might be there.”
“Who knows? He might be too busy for a party. Are you really going to let him stop you from doing what you want? You haven’t before.”
True. I wanted to go to Eilidh’s wrap party. It sounded fun. And I missed her. Although we spoke every week, I hadn’t seen her in over a year. She came to Paris for a few days at the beginning of last year, but that was the last time we’d seen each other in person.
I’ll be there. Just tell me where and when.
Mum chuckled as she got out of the car. “I take it you said yes.”
“I did.”
“Good. Guess you need to book some flights.”
My phone buzzed.
Ahhhhhhhh! I can’t wait to hug you and squeeze your gorgeous fucking face!!!
I burst into laughter. Eilidh was worth the risk of seeing Lewis, I promised myself. Even as my gut suddenly felt like an entire kaleidoscope of butterflies had taken up residence in it.